Richard II, by William Shakespeare, is a play about a King whom is a poor chose in spending his countries wealth, separated from his subjects, and makes unwise decisions for counsel. Richard II then begins to lease land to wealthy noblemen and takes the money from a deceased uncle to fund his lifestyle the commoners and other noblemen become outraged. In the play there are symbolisms to England as being like “Eden”; and the first symbolism and maybe one of the most significant ones is by John of Gaunt in Act 2, scene 1, lines 31-68. After Gaunt’s symbolic reference to England as a garden there are other symbolisms towards gardens referenced throughout the play along that aid in Shakespeare’s use of imagery. The first symbolic comparison of gardens is seen in Act 2, scene 1, lines 31-68 by John of Gaunt. Gaunt begins describing England as a garden; “This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself; Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [... ] This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land, Dear for her reputation through the world, Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it, Like to a tenement or pelting farm” (Bevington, 2009, pg341). This is a reference to what England used to be before Richard started his wrath upon the land. Another reference to a garden and the actions of Richard can be seen in Act 3, scene 4, lines 56-66. The Gardener states “That he has not so trimmed and dressed his land, As we this garden! We at time of year, Do wound the bark, the skin of our fruit trees, Lest being overproud in sap and blood, With too much...

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...extent were RichardII actions to blame for his deposition?
In 1399 RichardII was captured and deposed by a rebel group lead by Henry Bolingbroke and taken to Pontefract Castle were he later died in 1400. It is agreed by many that RichardII actions up to this point were the primary cause of his deposition however there were other factors such as opposition groups and parliament.
Richard became king at the young age of 10 after the death of his grandfather Edward III. The public were looking forward to the reign of this new king as his father, Edward the black prince, who died in battle during the 100year war had been a very popular figure. John of Gaunt had been Richards’s reagent whilst he was too young to rule but as he began to take over from his uncle he began to build up a group of unpopular favourites.
Richards’s choices concerning his favourites may have been the main reasons that Richard lost public support as he made enemies needlessly and promoted those who could offer him comparatively little support. His group of favourites included Robert de Vere, earl of oxford, whom he promoted to marquis of Dublin, this angered Richards’s uncles the dukes of Lancaster, York and Gloucester as Robert de Vere didn’t fit the profile of a suitable noble for this role as he was too young and naive. To be considered a good leader at this time you were expected to...

...Shakespeare the Historian: RichardII and the War of the Roses
Who was RichardII?
Born: 1367
Reign: 1377 – 1399 (deposed)
Death: 1400 (murdered)
Historical Context surrounding RichardIIRichardII was born in 1367, in Bordeaux which was then part of the English principality of Aquitaine. He was the second son of Edward, the Black prince, and his wife Joan of Kent. Edward was in line to the throne, after his father Edward III. The Black Prince was a distinguished military leader like his father, bringing about victories at in the Hundred Year’s War against France. However, Edward died in 1376, and as his first son had died in 1371, Richard was therefore the heir to the throne. Richard ascended to the throne in 1377 at the age of ten.
Richard, at the age of ten, was not prepared to be king. It was usual for such a young monarch to have a regent rule in their place, an older relative. However, it was feared that John of Gaunt – Richard’s uncle – would try to usurp his throne, so instead of a single regent a council of noblemen were put in place to rule on Richard’s behalf.
(Turn to page 178 of Year 7 History textbook)
1381 Peasant’s Revolt – a poll tax was imposed on every person over the age of 15. This resulted in a revolt across Essex and Kent, led by Wat Tyler. The rebels, numbering 100,000 men marched...

...﻿ Shakespeare is trying to tell the audience the way RichardII rules England through imagery. In both of the scenes in this paper Shakespeare uses imagery to describe the way King RichardII has brought the country to ruin. This king needs replaced and in both speeches his bad deeds are spoken of through a metapohor of a garden. The speech in Act 2 Scene 1 is a way for Gaunt to tell Richard exactly how he feels about the way things have been going in England. In his dying breathe he describes England as a incredible garden and still shows Richard his wrongs and gives him some advice.
This speech starts as “Me thinks I am a prophet new inspired” In this one line Gaunt is saying I can tell you exactly how I feel about the way you have and are ruling England. “ His rash, fierce blaze of riot can not last, for violent fires soon burn out themselves” , is the next line. In it Gaunt is telling Richard that the way he rules will not last, sooner or later it will burnout. Next we have the line “small showers last long but sudden storms are short”. This metaphor can be used today. Small light storms can rain for days, heavy hard rain barely lasts hour usually only minutes. The first part of this speech describes Richard’s vices. When we keep reading and get further into the speech he speaks of mother England. This description of England is very symbolic . It is...

...RichardII
For further information regarding the critical and stage history of RichardII, see SC, Volumes 6, 24, 39, 52, 58, and 70.
INTRODUCTION
RichardII (ca. 1595) is the first drama of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, a sequence of chronological narratives based on events in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries that chronicle the ascent of the Lancastrian line to the throne of England. In the play, Richard, an ineffectual monarch and the last of the Plantagenet kings, is deposed and imprisoned after his cousin Henry Bolingbroke launches a successful coup to usurp the English crown. Following Richard's assassination, Bolingbroke becomes King Henry IV, the subject of the following two plays in the sequence. Written entirely in verse, RichardII features what numerous critics perceive as Shakespeare's most brilliantly realized rhetorical tragedy, a work centered on the poetic, introspective persona of King RichardII. Devoid of the spectacular battles, much of the violence, and the epic sweep of Shakespeare's subsequent historical works, the play has sometimes been faulted for dramatic unevenness, but is nevertheless highly regarded for its moments of superbly crafted and penetrating poetic dialogue. Dorothy C. Hockey (1964) compares the dramatic language of Richard...

..."Richard Cory" describes how one man is not as perfect as his townspeople think. The poem “Richard Cory” was written in 1897 by Edwin Arlington Robinson. It is about a gentleman by the name of Richard Cory; a man everybody admired. The townspeople look at him as if he had it all. They see his money, feel his power, know his intelligence, and not one time do they ever doubt his happiness, yet Richard Cory “puts a bullet through his head”. In 1966 the musicians Simon and Garfunkel wrote the song “Richard Cory” which is based on the poem “Richard Cory”. In the song, the narrator works in a factory owned by Richard Cory. The narrator wants to be Richard Cory despite the fact that his “idol” kills himself. The meaning of the poem and the song is pretty clear, although the poem and the song are slightly different. The narrator of the poem seems to be blindly admiring Richard Cory than the narrator of the song, who seems to be expressing more envy and anger towards him.
The poem “Richard Cory” demonstrates quite clearly that money cannot buy happiness. The speaker describes Richard Cory as “a gentleman from sole to crown, clean favored, and imperially slim”. This description exemplifies Cory’s appearance and gives an idea of aristocratic quality and royalty. “And he was rich - yes, richer than a king – and admirably schooled...

...Elliott Brown
Essay #1
Cooper
Richard Cory: The Man Who Was
"Richard Cory" describes how one man is not as perfect as his townspeople think. They believe that he is better than everyone else. However, the man in the poem, Richard Cory, kills himself. Throughout the poem, the author, Edwin Arlington Robinson, provides insight into the chilling end of the poem where Cory puts "a bullet through his head" (16), conveys how you cannot judge a book by its cover, and explains how Richard Cory fell victim to the pressures of society.
Edwin Arlington Robinson sneaks in key words to give insight to Cory killing himself. Robinson states that, "he was always quietly arrayed" (5) which means that he is impressive in a discreet manner. He is not one to brag or boast but for some reason, he is obviously not as impressive as people think. Also, Robinson says that he is "human when he talked" (6). This must mean that he does not talk often and when he does, it is something to pay attention to. The wisest words are those of the light-spoken The people of the town think that Cory is more than a person. They think that he is some sort of town icon. Robinson foreshadows Richard Cory's death by using diction that makes Cory look like he is too perfect. People link money with richness and become envious of those who have more. However, in Cory’s case, he is the rich person with emotional and psychological...

...The two main characters that I choose were Richard and Joe. Joe was the father to Richard. Richard was adopted by the McDonalds and lives together with his brother and sister and their names are Tom and Judy and his mother who called Sonya.
Richard was a teenage Aboriginal raise in white Australian society. Richard always get a dream about a spirit calling him and give him some scenes or direction to do something, but he can’t understand what the message trying to be carry out by the dream. Furthermore, Richard had scored a very good school grades and he wish to choose history as his study next year at university.
Joe was a very good father and householder because he takes a very good care to his family members. Joe liked holding family meetings because he believed they were a good way to get the family together and discuss things. As for examples, Joe had call for family meeting and tells the children about the tjurunga that they found in the attic.
Richard and his father Joe were having a good relationship, we can prove this by the situation that had been happened. Richard never made angry to his parent on hiding his father tjurunga from him for...

...HSC Advanced English, Module A: Richard III and Looking For Richard, Essay
Connections of commonality and dissimilarity may be drawn between a multiplicity of texts through an appreciation of the values and attitudes with which they were composed. Accordingly, the values and attitudes of the individual being may be defined as an acute blend of externally induced, or contextual and internally triggered, or inherent factors. Cultural, historical, political, religious and social influences, dictated by the nature of one’s surroundings, imprint a variable pattern of values and attitudes upon the individual. Thus any deviation in any such factor may instigate an alteration of the contextual component of one’s perspective. By contrast, the psychological fundamentals of humanity are sturdy and whilst they partake in the definition of the values and attitudes of the individual, they are unwavering. Shakespeare’s historical play ‘Richard III’ and Pacino’s docudrama ‘Looking for Richard’ confirm such theory through an exploration of the contextual and inherent. A scrutiny of the contradictory forces of humanism and determinism and the function of women as demonstrated by both texts imparts an incongruity of context. Difference is thus conveyed. Conversely, an acknowledgement of the strength of conscience common to both texts suggests an inherent influence. Thus it is through inspection of the prescribed texts that one may...